Delhi-NCR wake up to heavy rain, thunderstorms; IMD predicts more showers

The IMD has also predicted that thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would over several districts of Haryana.

New Delhi: Heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms on Sunday (October 17, 2021) morning lashed several parts of the Delhi-NCR. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the showers will continue for the next few hours. 

In a weather update at 06:45 AM, the weather department said that thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would continue to occur over and adjoining areas of many places of entire Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad for the next two hours.

The IMD also said that thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would continue over Haryana's Gannaur, Hansi, Siwani, Meham, Sonipat, Tosham, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar and Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, Modinagar, Indirapuram, Gangoh, Deoband, Nazibabad, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Kandhla, Bijnaur, Khatauli, Sakoti Tanda, Chandpur, Baraut, Daurala, Bagpat, Meerut, Khekra, Modinagar, Kithor, Amroha, Garhmukteshwar, Pilakhua, Hapur, Gulaoti, Sikandrabad. 

Meanwhile, the air quality in Delhi has slipped to 'very poor' category on Saturday with a steep rise in stubble burning in the last two days contributing to 14 per cent in the city's deteriorating air. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' forecast body SAFAR, Delhi's AQI has slipped to a very poor category with PM 2.5 as the lead pollutant.

The rainfall is likely to improve the air quality but it will remain in the 'poor' category.

According to the data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), as many as 1,948 farm fires were recorded in the last two days - October 15 and 16 - compared to 1,795 incidents that occurred in an entire month till October 14.

In the last two days, 1,089 farm fires were recorded in Punjab, Haryana had 539 fires, Uttar Pradesh had 270 incidents, Rajasthan had 10 fires and Madhya Pradesh recorded 40 such incidents. The data showed that the fire incidents recorded within two days are much higher than the incidents which occurred in the last 10 days till October 14.

This is noteworthy that stubble burning in the neighbouring states significantly contributes to the air pollution in the national capital. Farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue before cultivating wheat and potato. 

(With agency inputs)